1988 KVA GT40

Lot No.: 307

The Ford GT 40 is one of the greatest racing cars, from one of the greatest racing periods. The 1960s were the time of the famous Ford / Ferrari battles at Le Mans and in the World Sports Car championship and allegedly, the GT40's very existence arose out of Ford's desire, and then failure, to purchase Ferrari. What ensued is one of the greatest motor sport rivalries of all time between Ferrari, who had won Le Mans six consecutive times (1960-1965) and Ford, who then won Le Mans four consecutive times (1966-1969) proving that they too, could compete at an international level. Consequently, given the car's competition pedigree and beautiful, Eric Broadley styling, original GT40s are worth millions of pounds today. As a result, high quality, dimensionally accurate recreations that employ original Ford power plants are an affordable and enjoyable way to experience one of the all-time great cars.

Offered here is a KVA replica that was first registered on the 1st May 1988 to Alexander Trotman, the then Chairman and CEO of the Ford Motor Company. He subsequently sold it in December 1992, to a fellow Ford director who was a knowledgeable engineer and enthusiast for all things Ford.

Documentation in the concise history file shows that he was not a fan of the original power train set up of a Rover V8 and Citroen gearbox, so at considerable expense he went about changing it in 1993.

A Ford 351 fed through a set of Weber IDFs, now sits proudly in the rear and is expertly mated to a purpose built ZF gearbox costing circa £16,0000 in 1994. It is quoted in the history file that "the car now has the same specification as the winning GT40 Chassis 1075". A breakdown of the ratios can be found in the history file.

Sadly our owner passed away without seeing the fruition of his labours on his beloved GT40, but he did leave behind all of his engineering drawings and build notes and they are in the file.

Fortunately the car was purchased by our equally enthusiastic vendor a couple of years ago, and after some careful research set about the last stages of bringing this striking car back to life.

With the car mechanically sound, he spent just over a year focussing on the bodywork, gently modifying the KVA shell to keep the appearance as original as possible. The venting has been shaped to allow more effective cooling and new contours have been added to guide the airflow into air ducts on the rear clamshell, as a result of which the rear arches are now symmetrical. A new petrol tank was then fabricated and made to fit snugly, the interior has been trimmed and the door cards have been covered in leather. He then spent a considerable amount of time making sure that all the panels fitted correctly and the 'shut lines' were spot-on.

When he was completely satisfied with his extensive labours the car was expertly finished in the famous Gulf Racing colours of Powder Blue (PPG12163) and Topaz (PPG60812) and bears the number '6' and the correct decals replicating '1075'.

'1075' is perhaps the most famous of the Gulf cars, having won six times internationally, with two of these being at Le Mans when it was shared by Rodriguez and Bianchi in '68 and Ickx and Oliver in '69.

A great deal of time and money has gone into this project, drawing on all the connections and experience of its recent owners. Just prior to the sale the engine was tuned by a V8 specialists and the carbs were balanced and set up. It's now running well, is MoT'd until October 2016 and ready to drive away.

With its externally accurate replication of '1075', and the degree of engineering integrity in the build, this is a very desirable GT40 replica and with other, lesser, GT40 recreations being advertised at prices in excess of this guide we feel it represents excellent value for money.